Cardus corner

A long while ago (about ten years) I worked in Product Development on the development of the Ford Transit with a team based in Dearborn, Michigan.

One of my responsibilities was to be a member of the Drive Team. This group represented the customer and our job was to drive product and appraise it as a customer would. Some of the driving was done on roads and some was done on proving grounds (private tracks).

One of the friends I met while working on the project sent me this e-mail today:

I was in Dearbon a couple of weeks ago……

I had reason to go to Michigan Proving Grounds for a drive and on the precision steering route, the guy who was driving referred to something called 'Cardus Corner'.

I pi55ed myself laughing and asked him what that was (like I didn't know!). And he said it was a corner where 'some girl once crashed' but he didn't know who you were or what vehicle it was or when it was…

I think it's great that you actually have your own corner but no-one knows why…….

I wouldn't have called it a crash...more of a crash barrier nudge. And is it sad that I'm quite proud that some corner of an American proving ground bears my name, informally at least?